


Welcome

by DesertVixen



Category: Hotel California - The Eagles (Song)
Genre: After The Song, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29277864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: Returning to the Hotel California...
Relationships: narrator/woman
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	Welcome

**Author's Note:**

  * For [firecat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/firecat/gifts).



He’d come to realize that while he had left the Hotel California, he had never really escaped it. 

It had been the most ill-advised stop of his life, running away from his old life – a dead fiancée, a disapproving family, seeking an answer in the bottom of every bottle he could find. Then, he’d thought himself anxious to end it all, and throw away the life that had only been a trouble to him.

There, in the Hotel California on that dark desert night, he had realized how much he wanted to live and improve things.

He had lived, had made something of himself. But the Hotel California lurked in the back of his mind, always there.

The music he had heard became the backdrop of many a haunting dream, dreams that left him waking up bewildered and shaky. The woman with the lovely face, the serene face, was the only part of the dream that didn’t seem sinister. She was welcoming, calming, and somehow seemed like an echo of all the women he had known and loved.

Forty years later, he found himself alone again, except for the dreams. His wife had gone before him, his son had grown and built a life, and his oncologist said the mass was inoperable. 

So he tidied up his affairs, ensured that his son wouldn’t have too many headaches, and one afternoon set out in his restored Corvette. Not the one he’d driven forty years ago, but very much like it.

He didn’t know what to expect precisely, but he felt sure he wouldn’t be coming back. 

It was dark as he came over the hill, and saw the softly shimmering lights of the Hotel California. When he pulled into the courtyard, the man who opened the door seemed vaguely familiar.

But it was the woman, who stood just behind him, whose lovely face truly welcomed him.

“Welcome back,” she said, her voice a wistful echo. 

“Did I ever really leave?” He asked, wondering if maybe this place was the reality and everything else merely a dream.

“It makes no matter now,” she assured him. “I have been waiting for you.”

*** 

It was destined to be one of the mysteries of the California highways. 

The abandoned cherry red vintage Corvette near a faded sign pointing to a forgotten hotel was quickly reported to the Highway Patrol, and a search mounted for the owner, one Robert Graham. 

Although a manhunt was mounted, no trace of him was ever found.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! It's a little creepier than what I usually do for Chocolate Box, but I loved the prompt.


End file.
